Claire Curzan is once again at the pinnacle of swimming, and not just because her Virginia Cavaliers won the NCAA championship.
It is a feeling she really hasn’t had, at least not completely since making the Olympic team at age 16.
That also was a pinnacle.
But like any young athlete who reaches the pinnacle early on, Curzan’s career has shown just how difficult it is to stay there.
The past four years have brought many trials and challenges for Curzan, who started her collegiate career at Stanford, only to transfer to Virginia, take an Olympic training redshirt year and not make the 2024 Olympic team.
It was devastating.
Slowly, she worked her way back physically, but mentally overcoming that devastation took even longer.
Curzan joined a Virginia team that was the defending NCAA champion and knew the pressure was off. She wouldn’t have to be the face of the team on a squad with the Walsh sisters.
With that pressure off, Curzan broke the NCAA record in the 200 backstroke last year. It was a pivotal swim in her career, but was overlooked a bit because of all the eyes on Gretchen Walsh hunting down records.
That pivotal swim gave Curzan a new wave of confidence that was important coming into her junior year this season because without the Walsh sisters, Curzan is the face of Virginia, and one of the faces of college swimming.
She built all season for this NCAA championships and has been in a zone unlike she has ever experienced in her career.
Curzan has been focused, determined and confident. Put all three of those factors together and that is tough to beat.
And Curzan was tough to beat. She won the 100 and 200 backstrokes (one hundreth of a second off her NCAA record in the 200) and finished second in the 100 butterfly to former Stanford teammate Torri Huske – the final individual battle of their collegiate careers with Huske graduating.
That confidence showed the most after getting touched out by Huske. Curzan was not down on herself, though she likely was a little disappointed. She found the perspective of the moment, which was getting to race Huske one last time.
“As good as she was last year, she has improved significantly in everything,” Virginia coach Todd DeSorbo said. “I was shocked by the 20.8 50 freestyle after the backstroke. She has been terrific. Claire has taken that leadership role and (stepped into the sunlight).”
On the pool deck, on the blocks, on the podium, in the interview room, the focus, determination and confidence was plain to see just by watching her eyes.
That is not a place many athletes get to – especially in the interview room.
Curzan cruised from there by sweeping the backstroke events, winning all four relays she was a part of, and leading Virginia to another NCAA title in a crossroads season for the Cavaliers, where they proved to be better than anyone expected – even themselves.
“I couldn’t be prouder of her,” teammate Anna Moesch said. “I look up to her probably more than she even knows. Seeing her work her butt off every day in practice (is inspiring). I love watching her show off to the world what I see every day. I am so glad she is the leader of our team. She is such a powerful person (for our team).”
With one more collegiate season to go, Curzan has proven she can be at her best as the face of a team, and next year, she will be the face of college swimming and chasing records.
And with her focus, determination and confidence that she showed this week, those records are going to fall.
But with Curzan leading the young upstart wave of Cavaliers, it doesn’t seem like Virginia is going anywhere.
Neither is Curzan.